Seven Days of Arkos
by T-Rex Marine
Summary: Faced with monsters and awkwardness, will Jaune and Phyrra finally admit how they feel about each other
1. Chapter 1

**Nightmare**

Jaune awoke to a creaking sound coming from the door. It was way past curfew and everyone was asleep. He glanced around the room, noting that Ren and Nora were still in their beds and then peaked down to check on Pyrrha.

Gone.

The young gladiator's bed was completely vacant, her blanket and pillows tossed to the floor, out of character for the normally calm and tidy girl.

"That's strange", he muttered.

Curious as to what could have caused his partner to get up so late in the night, he got up and quietly opened the door so as to not wake the rest of his team's beauty sleep.

He closed the door and made his way down the hallway, searching for any sign of Pyrrha that he could find.

The halls of Beacon at night seemed to be even longer than they were during the day, endless shadows stretching on seemingly for ever. Straining to see, he flicked out his scroll from his pocket and used it as a make shift flashlight.

Jaune walked along the hallways, jumping at his own shadow one or two times. He couldn't help it.

 _This place is pretty creepy at night._

He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared. But Pyrrha was missing. And that was enough motivation to brave through any sinister looking things in the dark if it meant making sure his partner was alright.

Pyrrha was probably and Jaune's first real friend and thanks to her he'd got the courage to make many more. He owed her a LOT.

 _She means everything to me._

"Whoa, where did _that_ come from?" he thought. Sure he cared for her but not like _together-together_ cared as Nora would put it. No way. That's just…no. But maybe…

He chuckled to himself.

 _Yeah Jaune, you and Pyrrha Nikos. Right. Do you wanna use your other two wishes now?_

Jaune knew that they'd never be a pair. She was…just incredible in every way; smart, kind, funny beautiful and a badass to the core. And he was…him. The goof in distress that barely survived a fight.

He had a great friendship with her and that was fine.

Just fine.

About half an hour of strolling the halls passed and Jaune soon questioned if she was still in this area. Maybe she already went back in the dorm and I just walked around the whole school at night like an idiot.

He was about to just dismiss it as a late night walk when he heard a small whimpering sound.

"This is really strange", he thought to himself.

"That almost sounds like…" he didn't need to complete the sentence to know it sounded like his partner but it the same time it didn't. He'd never seen his normally optimistically cheery partner cry and the thought of her upset and alone in the dark was troubling to say the least.

He followed the sound and was amazed to see Pyrrha crouching down in one of the school's storerooms. Her brilliant red hair covering her face, buried behind her knees. She apparently hadn't noticed his presence so Jaune, very cautiously, whispered, "Pyrrha? It's me Jaune. Are you alright?"

Startled, Pyrrha looked up at Jaune. It truly broke Jaune's heart to see those shimmering pools illuminated by the moonlight build up in those two lovely green eyes. Her vibrant smile replaced with a half-hearted attempt to mask her clear distress. She quickly wiped away her tears and straightened herself up. She cleared her throat and spoke, her voice still evidently shaky from the earlier crying;

"Oh Jaune. I didn't know you were here. Yes I'm…I'm fine, thank you".

Jaune knew she was lying and he was having none of it. He fixed a stern but concerned look at her.

"Pyrrha please, you can tell me what's wrong".

Her ghost of a smile faded and her gaze fell away from his face. Jaune reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to meet that boyish smile Jaune always managed to pull. She smiled a little, comforted by his presence. She took her time to form the words together properly so that it didn't sound stupid.

"I…I had a nightmare".

She braced herself at the coming laughter of surprise at her answer.

When no laughter followed, Pyyrha looked back up a Jaune, still wearing that warm smile.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No…yes. I don't know. It's dumb. It doesn't matter".

"If it's got you this upset Pyrrha, it matters to me", he said.

"You…don't think it's childish I had a nightmare?"

Jaune went deadpan. "Pyrrha, I just spent half an hour jumping at shadows in my jammies. Believe me, I'm not judging anyone any time soon".

She giggled at that response.

 _Good, she's calming down a bit._

Jaune gave her plenty of time to answer, never rushing her. When she was ready, she took a deep breath and began.

"We were in the woods, the whole team. We were hunting Grimm, a pack of Beowolves. When I turned around to face the Alpha, it already started running away…"

"I'd run away too if you were going to fight me. Smart dream Beowolf".

She laughed a little again. It didn't change her mood completely, but it was nice of him to try and make her feel better.

"Sorry", he said. "Go on".

"Of course", she nodded, "I started to give chase but it was too fast. I lost it and by the time I got back..."

Pyrrha shuddered, breathing frantic shallow breathes. Her eyes began to well up with fresh tears. Jaune pulled her into a hug and offered quiet words of reassurance.

"You were all dead! Jaune there was so much blood. You all died because I left you. Because I was too stupid to realise it was a trap".

Pyrrha clung tightly to Jaune, afraid of losing him again after her terrible dream.

"Pyrrha, it's alright. I was just a dream. Ren and Nora are asleep back in the dorm and I'm right here. With you. And that's where I'm staying, scary dream Beowolves or not".

She sniffled. "But it felt so real. Jaune if you got hurt, if any of the team got hurt because of me…"

"It won't happen".

"How can you be so sure?"

Crap. Jaune was usually the one who needed these kinds of talks. So he thought about what _she'd_ say to him if the roles were reversed.

"Because you're our friend. And we're your friends. When one of us is in danger, we all help each other out of it always"

"But if I…"

"Always. No buts. Pyrrha, there is no one, anywhere in Remnant, that I'd rather trust when things get rough. You're the best partner and friend I could ever hope for".

 _And the most beautiful and amazing girl I'll ever meet._

Dammit how much he wished he could block those thoughts. Almost as much as he'd like to voice them.

The sudden tightening of his ribcage snapped him back to reality to find Pyrrha hugging him tightly. He returned the hug with relief that she was feeling better.

She pulled back to reveal her face, no longer covered in tears and her mouth had curved upwards into that wonderful, cheerful smile that he knew all so well.

"Thank you Jaune".

"Anytime Pyrrha. Come on. Let's head back to bed".

He made his way off to bed when he felt a slight pull on his right arm. Pyrrha pulled him a little closer and asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

The two of them blushed and chuckled awkwardly, avoiding each other's gaze.

"That didn't quite come out the way I thought it would".

"It's cool Pyrrha, you can bunk with me tonight.

"Thank you Jaune. For…well for everything".

"Anytime partner".

The two made their way back to their dorms. Pyrrha was relieved to see Ren and Nora sleeping peacefully, assuaging her fears for their safety.

Jaune lay down with Pyrrha, trying his best not feel awkward. In actuality, it was actually quite comfortable. She was so warm and pleasant to the touch.

 _All right Jaune calm down._

Pyrrha rested her head on his right shoulder. It would've been perfect except he got a mouthful of scarlet hair as a result. He kept quiet and brushed a few strands out of his face. It was then that he noticed that he quite enjoyed moving his hand through her hair. He subconsciously continued to gently brush out her long ponytail until he snapped back to reality and realised what he was doing and stopped.

Pyrrha stirred from her little doze.

Crap. Made it weird.

"Jaune?"

"Uh, heh heh, sorry. Just sort of happened".

She nuzzled up closed to him.

"You can keep doing it if you like. It was actually very relaxing".

"Oh. Well I mean if it helps and you don't mind. But if this is too strange you just say and I'll stop right there no more about it, so…"

"Jaune…", she cooed.

He stopped his flustered rambling to look back to her.

 _By God she's breath taking._

Pyrrha was the perfect picture of serenity. A far cry from the state he'd found her in to his joy. But there was another feeling behind her relaxed appearance and sleepy smile. In her eyes there was a wanting for something.

A hunger.

And Jaune felt that he knew this feeling all too well.

She moved in closer and whispered, "Hold me".

No muttering or nervous twitching followed. Jaune instantly followed her command, wrapping his arms around her well-built frame, pulling her closer to him.

Her scent was a wondrous aroma of jasmine.

Pyrrha slowly moved her head to Jaune's chest. She sighed in delight at the rhythmic beat of his heart and her body lost all tension all he continued to pet her hair.

After a while, the sighing died down and Jaune broke from the bliss he was in to see Pyrrha snoring softly. She'd finally gotten back to sleep.

"Good night Pyrrha", he whispered before falling asleep himself.

Pyrrha awoke to find Jaune still sleeping, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

She let out a small sigh of joy.

Waking up to the handsome young blonde after what started as a horrible night.

Nora and Ren were still asleep. Nothing out of the ordinary, she was always an early riser. She placed her head back on Jaune's chest and decided to enjoy the next few minutes of this beautiful moment while she could.

 _I wish every morning was like this._

Pyrrha lamented the fact that she and Jaune would always be "just friends". She wished that she was brave enough to tell him how she felt. But even if she did, would he even feel the same way about her? Probably not. She'd probably ruin what was perhaps her first true friendship in the process. That was something she wasn't sure she was willing to risk. Or was the risk worth it?

She thought back to their nights on the roof, their dance and the way he comforted her last night. And then she decided.

 _Yes. It is worth it. We're worth it._

She grinned at the comfortably sleeping Jaune and vowed to try and be _together-together_ with Jaune.

He ended her nightmare. Now she wanted to start her dream.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Day Out**

After an hour and a half, as well as a seemingly endless amount of Grimm hunting tales, Professor Port's class had finally come to an end. Once the bell rang out, every student rushed for the door, eager to get out and enjoy what was left of the day.

Professor Port called out, "Such enthusiasm, always a pleasure to see. Now remember class, just because lessons are over now, please do try to make today productive".

 _Oh I intend to._

Pyrrha was on a mission. Neither Jaune's obliviousness nor her shyness would get in her way. She was going to finally make Jaune see how she felt.

 _Wait. Today? How?_

Pyrrha knew she couldn't just blurt out her feelings, despite how much she'd like too. No, this would have to be done gradually. She needed to find a way to break the ice.

The young gladiator walked past the tide of uniformed students rushing for the exit and caught a glimpse of the blonde knight, fast asleep on his desk.

The red head smiled.

Not everyone had the willpower to last through Professor Port's…bombastic storytelling.

She crept up behind him and gave him a flick at the back of his ear.

Almost instantly, Jaune shot up, arms flailing about and tired eyes searching for the thing that pulled him from his slumber.

"Huh-who-wha, Nora it wasn't me someone else ate the pancakes!"

 _The pancake dream again? That's the third time this week._

Once he'd settled Jaune noticed Pyrrha looking down at him, smiling, and immediately straightened up.

"Oh hey Pyrrha. Sorry I was just…uh…"

"Dozing off?"

"Gimme a break, he went through eight stories about Deathstalkers!"

"Thirteen. You didn't make it for the rest. You were lucky!"

Jaune chuckled. "Well, that's a first. But, looks like my luck's gonna run out pretty soon if I don't get caught up on those notes. I'm gonna go find Velv, she probably remembers em backwards anyway".

As he turned to leave, Pyrrha grabbed his shoulder. It wasn't a planned move, it was a reflex. He turned his head confused.

It was all so simple in her head. She just had to ask him something, but the minute those sapphire blue eyes met hers she just stopped functioning.

 _No! You've made it this far woman, say something!_

"Pyrrha? Are you O.K?"

It was now or never.

"I was just wondering…well there really isn't anything else to do today. Why not take the day off. Get some R&R. I'll give you the notes later".

Jaune was clearly surprised.

"Wow Pyrrha, you'd really do that?"

 _Yes! Got him!_

"Promise".

Jaune gathered all of his things quickly, and a little clumsily. "O.K. See you in five minutes, I just gotta get outta this uniform".

Pyrrha let out a very silent sight of relief that he had agreed to accompany her.

"Very well. I'll meet by the gates".

Jaune smiled and nodded. "Cool. See ya Pyrrha".

As Jaune trailed off, Pyrrha waited till he was out of sight and jumped a little in joy before recomposing herself.

 _Calm down. You're just going out. It's not like it's a date or anything._

"But still, it could be", she whispered to herself.

Then she rushed off the change back into her armour.

It had been fifteen minutes since Pyrrha spoke with Jaune and she was starting to get a little paranoid.

 _He said five. What's keeping him?_

Pyrrha froze.

 _What if I came on too strong and scared him off?_

She shook her head.

 _No, calm down. I'm sure everything's fine. He's just a little late, nothing out of the ordinary there. After all, he is…_

Just then she heard a screaming noise that was getting louder. She looked up to see its source falling down very quickly.

"Jaune!"

She summersaulted into the air and caught him, ending the improvised rescue with a perfect landing. Pyrrha released Jaune from her hold and let him dust himself off.

"Thank you".

"Jaune what happened? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh the falling. Yeah that was just a side effect of Cardin trying to pick on that new kid, Mercury I think it was. Man that guy can roundhouse kick. I just got caught in the crossfire, no problem."

Pyrrha knew she'd find out what had happened later, but for now she was just happy her partner was alright and that their day could finally begin.

"So, what would you like to do?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk in the woods for a while".

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"The one where an Ursa Major tried to eat me?"

"I believe you sorted that problem quite effectively last time".

"Heh heh, yeah. Plus with my badass partner what could go wrong?"

Pyrrha looked down a bit to hide her blush.

"Ever the charmer".

"Plenty of charms but no luck though. No one ever falls for em".

"You never know".

 _I do._

"Welp, lead the way then. Off to Forever Falls, where the teddy bear's picnic involves aspiring hunstmen."

Pyrrha giggled at his well humoured pessimism and led them to the forest.

They must have walked for about three hours now. Thanks to General Ironwood's latest measures against the Grimm, the forest's perimeter was relatively monster free.

Still, bringing their weapons just in case was never a bad idea.

Forever Falls was so beautiful once you didn't have to fear attacks by any dark beasts.

The whole place had a brilliant scarlet glow, stretching across the entire forest. The silence was a much welcomed change to after the constant chaotic events the teams had endured in their last semester.

And to top it all off, Jaune was here with her.

She'd been watching him the entire walk. She was surprised how awe struck he was at the wood's beauty, considering his near death encounter last time.

Still, this was also the same place Jaune finally rid himself of that cretin Cardin, so maybe it wasn't too surprising this place had an effect on him.

It also hadn't escaped her notice that he'd glanced her way a few times before looking back at his shoes.

 _Could he really be…_

Jaune started to slow down a bit, causing Pyrrha to stop.

"Are you alright?"

Jaune panted a little and nodded.

"Yeah just, can we take break? I don't think we've stopped walking since we started".

"Of course".

The two of them lay up against one of the many trees and looked up to the sky.

"Hey Phyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"Thanks for bringing me hear. This was…really nice".

In her head, Pyrrha was cheering that her little plan had been a success.

"You're most welcome Jaune".

Jaune smiled and looked back up again.

"Wow. Look at that. When you actually look at how big the world is, how much of it there is it really makes ya think. I mean about everything. Where you fit in this world and what's important to…."

Slowly, Jaune's smile fell into a disappointed frown. Pyrrha caught sight of it quickly.

"Are you alright?"

"Pyrrha I'm sorry".

She blinked her eyes in confusion.

"For what?"

"Last time we were here, I was a totally jerk and an idiot. I was so stupid. I should've just let you help me from day one, but no. I had to be the tough guy for once. I just…I was just tired of being the idiot following along. Instead I just made an even bigger idiot of myself. I never wanted to hurt your feelings".

Touched by his sincerity, Pyrrha fought the lump in her throat and moved a little closer to him.

"Jaune, you know we're past that now. And as I recall, this is the same place you chose me over Cardin".

Jaune snorted.

"Yeah, my best friend, who has been nothing but kind to me since I met her or Cardin. Gaah, I can't believe I even thought that was a choice".

"But it was. And you chose our friendship over your fears".

Jaune's smile started to reappear and his hand drifted closer towards Pyrrha's until their fingers intertwined.

"I'd chose us everytime".

At those words, Pyrrha's heart was practically drumming. It was skipping beats so many times she was worried it might forget how to function properly.

Their heads slid closer to each other, their eyes starting to close. They were just a hair's width away from making contact with each other now.

"Hey, what's that?"

Pyrrha's eyes shot back open and her body pulled back from Jaune's, albeit reluctantly.

"What is it? Grimm?"

He shook his head. "No that smell. Do you smell that?"

Pyrrha sniffed the air. "Yes, it's so familiar".

They hesitantly walked towards the scent's intoxicating aroma. They stopped in fronts of a small, sticky puddle of pinkish goo.

"Hey wait a minute. That's Rapier Wasp jelly! But what's with the big smoking outline in the leaves. It kinda looks like an…"

To Pyrrha and Jaune's shock, the outline resembled an Ursa Major, with a smaller outline not too far away, which is where the monster's head must have landed.

"Pyrrha. This is where is happened. Right here. Whoa".

Pyrrha sighed a little at how close she was to finally express her true feelings, but couldn't help but smirk at Jaune's joy.

"You must be pleased", she said.

"Yeah. I feel like…like right here, I really started to be a huntsman".

He turned to Pyrrha and held her hands in his.

"Well, I had a little help of course".

"Wha-what do you mean?"

He chuckled to himself.

"Pyrrha, I'm dumb but not _that_ dumb. I know you moved my shield".

 _Damn._

"Jaune I just…"

"Pyrrha it's cool, really. I'm grateful. You helped me become a better person that day. So maybe it wasn't all me but I still did it.

He looked deep into her eyes.

"We did it".

He squeezed her hands a little and she squeezed his in return.

"Well, I didn't do much. You just needed a little nudge is all".

"Well you can nudge me any time you want partner".

At that they both turned as red as the leaves they stood on and broke down laughing.

 _Oh Jaune._

They kept laughing until they fell right down into the dead beast's charred imprint. They rolled over and faced each other, finally settling down.

"This was great Pyrrha. I really needed this".

"Me too", Pyrrha hummed.

An idea suddenly hit Jaune.

"Let's make this our place. Just for us, when we need to get away".

Pyrrha wapped her arms around his neck.

"That sounds wonderful".

Then, slowly. Closer and closer. Their eyes shut once more and their lips drifted so close to each other and then…

A fierce howling noise echoed from the distance.

 _Damn! And we were so close this time!_

Then it occurred to them.

"Hey Pyrrha? Grimm like that jelly stuff right?"

"Yes".

They looked over their shoulders and their hearts sunk to see what remained of the jelly was now stuck to them.

"Oh crap".

The pair ran off, with Pyrrha being somewhat impressed by Jaune's sudden increased athleticism.

 _I swear, I will come back and wipe every last Beowolf out of this forest for ruining that moment._

It was drawing close to bed time and Pyrrha sat up, twiddling her fingers.

Today had been…magical.

But she'd dodged her objective all day.

 _No more distractions. Tell him._

She knew in her heart she wanted nothing more but to tell Jaune that she wished to be closer but she physically couldn't. It was like there was tar in her throat and every time the words tried to surface, they got caught I na tagled mess.

Jaune exited the bathroom and headed for his bed.

"Goodnight Pyrrha".

She slowly got up and nervously approached him.

"Jaune I…I…um"

 _Say something! Say something! Please say something!_

"Yes Pyrrha?"

The young gladiator was struggling to think od something coherent to say, so she decided to go with the first thing she had.

"I…was wondering…if we could be together".

Jaune's eyes nearly fired out of his skull.

"Tonight. I was wondering if we could sleep together tonight. Like last time".

"Ooooohhhh".

 _Why couldn't I do it?_

"Sure thing Pyrrha. Come on in".

Her disappointment didn't last long. As soon as the warmth from Jaune's body reached her's she let out a sigh of contentment.

As his strong arms wrapped around her, she buried her head underneath his chin.

 _Well, this isn't a total loss._

Even if Pyrrha hadn't confessed her true feelings today, this was certainly a good day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Beach**

After five brutal sparring matches with CRDL, it was pretty damn safe to say that Jaune was very much relieved to finally get some recuperation and the school trip to the beach was just what the doctor ordered.

Warm sand, fresh sea air and not a single trace of…

"I thought we were goin to the beach not the zoo. What's with all the animals runnin around?"

 _Cardin_

Jaune sighed at the loss of what was a pretty good sunny day.

The bane of Beacon Academy was of course making life difficult for the faunus students, who'd kept to themselves, far out of CRDL's spot on the beach. Sadly though, anywhere they went, so did he. And with his favourite target, Velvet, right there with them, the brainless brute was clearly thrilled to ruin their day.

"Shove off rabbit! We want this place!"

"B-but you already have a spot! We're not even in your way".

"Yeah, we know", cackled Dove, Cardin's idiot second in command. "We just don't want you to have it is all".

 _That…that doesn't even make sense. Even for these guys!_

"But that's not fair! You've pushed us all the way out from everyone else!"

"We didn't. If you mutts weren't so weak, you wouldn't be here would ya? So scram!"

Velvet stood up, clearly scared but with a spark of determination in her eyes. It had been the first time Jaune had seen her so defiant, even if she was still shaking life a leaf.

"No. We're a part of this academy, we should be able to enjoy ourselves just as much as you. We're…", her voice started to waver and for a brief moment, Velvet couldn't meet her tormentor's gaze. But she quickly steeled herself, "we're staying right here".

Cardin was clearly not pleased by this sudden act of resistance. "Oh big mistake, vermin".

The thugs sauntered towards the kids, Cardin heading towards Velvet. It was then, Jaune couldn't take it anymore. He knew what it felt like to be Cardin's prize punching bag. He wasn't about to let Velvet get treated the same way.

"Hey Cardin, knock it off!", Jaune called out as he marched towards the bullies.

Cardin turned his attention to Jaune, his frustration now replaced with a smug sense of superiority.

"Well if it isn't the knight in blue swim shorts. What brings you here Jaune, miss me beating the crap out of you so much you wanted me to do it to you on holiday?"

"How's the leg", quipped Jaune, with a raised eyebrow.

Cardin's smile vanished. His gang all took to steps back from their leader out of fear of his explosive temper erupting at the memory of Nora smashing Cardin's knee in CRDL's last bout with JNPR.

"Its fine", grumbled Cardin, through clenched teeth.

"Really? Cuz I heard the doctors had to put in ear plugs just to drown out your whining. I even heard you cried. Like a lot".

Cardin was absolutely fuming.

"What was it you said? Oh yeah. It was, "Momma! I want my momma!" I heard the nurses laughing about it in the corridor.

Steam was coming out of the bird brain leader's ear, as the faunus kids laughed and even the rest of Cardin's team nervously giggled, before recomposing themselves.

"Why you…"

Just then Pyrrha steeped in between Cardin and Jaune.

"Jaune, there's no need to fight anyone, let Carin have what he wants".

To say Jaune was confused was an understatement.

"What?!"

Pyrrha winked at him and smiled before turning back to Cardin.

 _What are you up to Pyrrha?_

"You are right Cardin. These students don't belong here and should leave".

"Ha! So miss know –it –all isn't completely stupid.

… _.Jaune wasn't even gone begin to try and explain to Cardin how little sense that made._

"Indeed, these students belong over there, with the rest of the people who want to enjoy the beach. In fact, that spot looks available", Pyrrha said, pointing to Cardin's spot.

"Hey that's mine!"

"No, this place by the rocks is yours now. You clearly want it so much".

"If you think I'm just gonna…

Pyrrha turned her head.

"Nora! Wack-a-mole!"

"I'm coommmmiinnnggg", hummed Nora from far off.

"Screw this, run!", squealed Sky.

Pyrrha turned back to Cardin, arms folded and eyes staring straight through him.

"Your move Cardin".

He was beaten. Even someone as dumb and stubborn as Cardin could that.

"This isn't over", he snarled as he stormed off in a huff.

 _Goddamn. That was amazing_

Velvet walked up to the JNPR partners.

"Thanks guys. We…really appreciate it".

"Don't thank us Velvs," Jaune said. "You stood up to him. Eventually he's gonna learn no one's afraid of him anymore, because of people like you".

Velvet had a ghost of a smile on her face and held her chin up a little at the praise she'd seldom heard from a human.

"Th-thanks guys. We'll remember this. We promise".

Jaune and Pyrrha watched Velvet walk off, then the blonde knight turned around, impressed.

"Pyrrha that was awesome! You just handed him his own ass without throwing a punch".

"Well, Cardin was never really one for lengthy battle of words. And Nora is a good deterent".

It was then, Jaune noticed something odd about Pyrrha that hadn't ocured to him earlier.

"Hey Pyrrha, why are you still in your armour?"

"Oh", said Pyrrha is an unusually hesitant tone. "No reason. I just…don't feel like swimming today. That's all".

"But Pyrrha, we only get like two of these trips every year. Come on, it'll be fun".

Pyrrha looked down for a while but then raised her head up with again with renewed enthusiasm.

"Okay. I'll meet you the team's spot".

Jaune had been lying down on his blue and white beach towel, soaking up as much sun as his body could take in. When from the corner of his eye he saw…

 _Holy Dust._

There right in front of him was Pyrrha Nikos, in a red two piece swimsuit, with her long red hair hanging loosely, looking like some majestic goddess of war.

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat and struggled to speak coherently.

 _Can you blame me? She's beautiful!_

Dammit Jaune, stop it. She's your partner, your best friend. Don't make this weird.

"Wow, Pyrrha you look fantastic", Jaune said.

Pyrrha did that thing where she smiles awkwardly and looks away when she gets a compliment. Honestly, she needed to recognise just how brilliant she was.

 _Then tell her_

Jaune wished he could.

"Why thank you Jaune. You look nice in your…"

"Yes, yes", Jaune interrupted well naturedly. Whereas Pyrrha was wearing what was no doubt the height of fashion, given to her by Coco, Jaune had settled for his trusty blue swim shorts, with little smiley cartoon fish on it.

Pyrrha stifled the ineviable laugh that followed.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it".

Of course he didn't mind. Hell, he even thought it was funny.

Pyrrha rolled out her red and bronze towel and lay down, letting her back get heated up by the sun's rays.

"Jaune, would you pass me the sunblock please?"

He looked around and found a half used bottle of sun block. He picked it up and turned to pass it to Pyrrha. As he did this though, he turned too quickly and accidentally placed his hand on Pyrrha's back.

The young gladiator let out a surprised yelp and turned her head to see a very confused and nervous Jaune.

"Uh…"

 _She's looking at you. Do something you idiot!_

"I was just…gonna…put on your sunblock…"

 _Oh bravo genius, that wasn't weird at all!_

Pyrrha was surprised at first, but the corners of her mouth soon pointed upwards and she nodded.

 _Um, what?_

Jaune had started this, he decided he must finish it. He applied the sunblock to Pyrrha's back, more than a little surprised by the noises his applying of the lotion seemed to cause.

Pyrrha was moaning, practically purring at Jaune's gentle caresses. Gradually, Jaune grew more confident, even bolder, seeking tense parts on her body and easing her aching muscles.

"Mmmh, Jaune", she sighed.

God, the way she said his name. He carried on long after he ran out of sun block, moving on up to her shoulders.

Then Jaune felt a small, rough patch on Pyrrha's shoulder.

It was like a tiny puncture wound that had been made a long time ago, but it still looked agitated and sore. He endeavoured to avoid it but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"So Pyrrha?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"This scar. Where did you get it from?"

It was clearly not something that she wanted to talk about, judging by her crestfallen expression. Not wanting to push her, Jaune offered to drop it, but Pyrrha being Pyrrha, never let fear rule her life.

It was just one of the many things he loved about her.

"When I was small, I used to swim all the time. I'd beg my father to take me down by the beach every time the sun came out. I used to stay there for hours, riding with the waves, seeing all the beautiful creatures that lived underwater. Those were some of the best times of my life".

Her tone was bittersweet.

"But one day, I must have swam out too far. The tides were so strong, but I thought I could take them. And then…"

She paused, seemingly uncomfortable recalling what was apparently a very painful memory for her. Jaune rubbed her shoulders to ease her a little and she groaned in gratitude.

"It was a shark Jaune. I didn't even move. I just froze. It circled around me for…God it felt like hours. I could see its face. Those bottomless, empty black eye with a huge scar across the left one. With rows of endless, sharp white teeth housed in a huge gaping mouth".

"Then it tried to bite. I dodged bit it still grazed me. It hurt so much".

Jaune wrapped his arms around her neck.

"But you survived".

"Yes. I passed out after it bit me and washed up on the shore. I'm told I was gone for a good few hours. I recovered very quickly _physically,_ but I never swam again. Not out far anyway".

"And I brought it up. Good work Jaune".

She placed a gentle hand on his own and looked up at him with welcoming eyes, inviting his to meet hers.

"It's okay Jaune. I feel alright around you".

"You know you don't have to swim if you don't want to".

She sighed.

"No. I want to. I really want to. I've allowed one incident from my past to stop me from doing something I used to love".

Pyrrha got to her feet, looked to the sea and clenched her fists. The nervousness that had occupied her thoughts had fled, making way for a strong resolve to face her fears head on.

"Are you coming Jaune?"

His pride in his best friend's courage revealed by an impressed smirk, Jaune followed Pyrrha out into the water.

Neither had noticed that not too far away was Cardin Winchester, who'd heard everything. He grinned callously as he had a brilliantly, awful idea.

"Oh this is gonna be fun", the lout chuckled, as he headed off out of sight.

Admittedly, Jaune was worried about Pyrrha. She was absolutely determined to her credit, but he'd noticed in her occasional winces and deep breathes, that she was definitely still afraid.

But, once they'd spent a good half hour out in the farther end of the water, Jaune was beginning to see that little girl who lived for the sea emerge in the excited cheers of his partner.

The red head was currently performing a very relaxed backstroke, looking absolutely stunning as the sun shimmered on her glistening body.

 _I wish I could just tell her_

Jaune swam up to her and stopped right beside her.

"Enjoying your swim?"

He already knew the answer. He just wanted her to confirm it.

"Jaune this is great. I haven't had this much fun since I was a little girl!"

Pyrrha turned to Jaune, and his heart swelled at the sight of her happiness after what must have been a lifetime deprived of something she once loved so greatly.

"Thank you Jaune".

"Hey no problem. Look, if you've taught me anything about being afraid, it's that it's usually more afraid of you than you are of…"

Suddenly, Pyrrha started shivering like made. Her eyes were wide and panicky.

"J-J-Jaune….", Pyrrha managed to stutter.

"Pyrrha, what is it?", he asked, his voice full of concern and worry.

She couldn't talk. Instead she merely pointed a shaking hand behind Jaune.

He turned around and his heart sunk at the sight of a single, grey fin protruding from the sea, a sinister prelude to something terrible. Something Pyrrha never wished to see again, and quite honestly something Jaune never wanted to see at all.

 _Shark._

"Oh…crap", was all Jaune could manage to squeak out, as he froze next to Pyrrha.

The fin drew closer and closer to them, until it was just a meter away from them. They closed their eyes and let out terrified screams as from the water erupted….

"Ha ha ha! You two dweebs were so scared", chortled something that was most definitely _not_ a shark.

There in front of them, was Cardin Winchester, with a fake shark fin strapped to his back, lugging so smug Jaune actually felt himself being sick.

"You idiot! You scared the carp out of us!", Jaune yelled.

"Wasn't you I wanted", he cackled. "Awww was the big bad amazon lady scared of a little prank shark fin?"

Pyrrha was beyond angry. She'd just been humiliated with her worst fears right in front of a man she loathed. She just kept her head down, eyes closed shut and her teeth bared.

"Stop laughing Cardin, it's not funny!", Jaune shouted.

That served only to make the big jerk laugh even more. He was laughing hysterically, splashing about and waving his arms.

Jaune had had it.

He moved towards Cardin.

"Dammit Cadrin I said stop…"

Jaune stopped moving. He didn't say a thing.

"Cardin?", he asked, almost as a whisper.

"Yeah, what?"

"Are the rest of your team here?"

"No, why?"

Pyrrha was quick to pick up on Jaune's tone and looked up to see what he saw.

"Cardin", she called out. "Stop laughing, you're disturbing the water. Don't move".

"Why? Ya afraid I might bring a…a…"

Cardin turned to see a wall of teeth, with two soulless black pits, the left one accompanied by a large scar, right behind him.

"No…", Pyrrha choked out. "It can't be….it's him".

Cardin was as still as a statue, managing to form only a few whimpers. Jaune wasn't going to comment why the water around Cardin felt so warm all of a sudden.

"Cardin", Jaune spoke "whatever you do, don't…."

"Every man for himself!", Cardin cried, desperately pushing Jaune out of the way as he tried pathetically to outswim the shark. It effortlessly chased him and clamped down on both of his legs, before pulling him screaming into the water.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, this is not good!", Jaune was panicking.

"Pyrrha, we need to go. Now!"

His partner wasn't moving. She just stayed, looking at the pool of blood where Cardin once was.

 _No. I'm not leaving her here!_

He seized her hand and looked deep into her startled eyes, trying to give her any strength he could offer.

"Pyrrha, we have to go".

Slowly, she started to come back to reality and then she nodded.

"Right. Let's move".

They went as fast as they could, pushing themselves to outswim the beast behind them. They though they were going to make it, when Jaune elt a nip on his right leg.

"Aaahhh", he cried.

Pyrrha, just a little bit ahead of Jaune, snapped round to see Jaune being pulled under".

"Jaune!"

"Just go Pyrrha! Keep going!"

But Pyrrha couldn't. Yes she was scared. Downright terrified. But she was never, ever, going to let anything take Jaune from her.

She dived down and met the shark, face to face. It glared at her out of its good eye. She was unsettled, but her eyes narrowed in defiance and she used her aura to propel herself towards its nose, launching herself at it like a torpedo.

And with one well-placed hit, her fist crashed into the beast's nose, causing it to release Jaune's leg and sending it back about twenty feet away.

She swam back up to Jaune, gasping for air.

That attack had taken a lot out of her.

"Jaune, are you okay?"

Jaune was speechless to say the least.

"Pyrrha…you just punched a shark".

"Yes but Jaune are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh well, it sort of just nipped me really. I mean it hurts but….Pyrrha you just punched a shark!"

Pyrrha stopped for a second.

She didn't know if it was terror or just the effect Jaune had on her, but she started to laugh.

"I…I suppose I did".

"Pyrrha Nikos! The shark master!", cried Jaune.

The two laughed a little more at how ridiculously awesomely Pyrrha just "faced her fear".

"Jaune, we need to get you back on land. Your still bleeding. It could come back".

"Right. We'll get back to the beach and tell the others to…"

Pyrrha was starting to collapse, the fatigue from giving all of her energy into a single attack finally catching up with her.

"Pyrrha, no!", Jaune cried, as he swum up to her. If she fainted here, she was going to drown. He held on to her but the pain in his leg was costing him his strength.

"No. I'm not leaving you. You didn't leave me…"

Then all of a sudden, Pyrrha's weight seemed to have gotten lighter because it was now much easier to hold her up. Then it was as if he wasn't even holding on to her.

"What the…"

To his shock, they were now on top of the shark.

Jaune was now well and truly scared. Not just for him, but for a very tired Pyrrha, who was clinging to the last shred of consciousness she had.

"Get away from us!"

The creature merely floated in place, it's bad eye finding Jaune, silencing him.

It then proceeded to swim, but at a gentle pace, so as not to shake off its terrified passengers.

 _What? Is it taking us back to feed its young or something!? Do they even do that?_

After about a minute, the shark stopped at a small cave. Once next to the rocks, Jaune quickly leapt of its back and carried Pyrrha off as well.

 _What the heck was happening?_

For whatever reason, the shark waited in the cave pool. It couldn't get them while they were here, so why did it bother.

Jaune quickly turned his attention back to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha wake up!", he begged.

He placed a hand on her head.

Stone cold.

He quickly pressed his hands against the centre of her chest, trying to force the water out of her lungs.

Nothing he tried again but to no avail.

"No, no, no!"

He placed his lips against hers, trying to get some air back into her.

 _Please let this work. It's my fault she's here. This has to work._

Everything was dark for a while.

Pyrrha had no idea what was going on.

Then her eyes open to see Jaune….

 _Kissing me?_

It was certainly not an unpleasant dream. But, she could feel it. Which meant…

This is real. We're both alive.

But as if Pyrrha's luck, she interrupted Jaune's kiss by sputtering water out of her mouth and coughing violently.

"You're alive!", he cried.

"Jaune…you saved my life".

She ran up and hugged the blonde boy, who returned her gesture with equal force.

"Of course I did. I've always got you're back".

Pyrrha cried silent tears of joy and relief.

But from her blurred, tear vision, she saw _it_ waiting there in the rock pool.

"Jaune….!"

"Yeah I know but something's wrong. It…brought us here".

"What?", she said incredulously.

"Why would it do that?"

"I don't know. It had us both there, practically on a silver platter, but it just carried us here".

Pyrrha didn't understand. Why would it bring them somewhere it couldn't attack them. She looked at the creature, as if asking it. To her surprise, it looked back, but the rage in its eyes had dissipated. It looked so patient. Like it was waiting for something.

A thunderous crash of wind and lightning boomed outside. The walls of the cave shuddered as fierce waves smashed against it.

"Wow. Pyrrha did you feel that!? There must be a massive freaking storm out there!"

"Yes. If we were still out there we'd be…"

Then it donned on her. It all made sense now.

She leaned down towards the shark.

"Pyrrha, no! What are you…"

She looked to Jaune and waved her hand out in front of him.

 _Trust me_

He understood.

Her hand touched the scar across the shark's left eye. It settled at her gentle touch.

"You were out there once. In the storm. That's how you got your scar".

Naturally it didn't respond but I seemed to indicate that it understood, through its downcast eyes.

"When I was a girl, you didn't attack me. You tried to save me. You pulled me to safety and dragged me back to the shallow after the storm. That's how I washed back onto shore".

This time, it flapped its tail to acknowledge her.

"And you saved us. You only wanted to graze us to scare us off, but when we froze, you tried to take Jaune back because we were running out of time. You're…you're not a monster at all".

Jaune, looking onwards at the red head and the shark. His jaw practically hit the ground.

"Wow", was all he could come up with.

He walked up next to Pyrrha and, slowly, placed his hand on their scar faced saviour.

"Thank you", Pyrrha said.

Together, the two Beacon students and a shark, waited out the storm.

Once the storm had passed, the shark had given them a life back as far as the shallows. Overnight, Pyrrha patched Jaune's grazed leg back up and had made it clear to their new friend that biting wouldn't be necessary.

They hopped off and made their way back to the shore. Before they did though, Pyrrha turned one last time to, what had once been the source of her childhood nightmares.

"I can't thank you enough for saving us. And I'm sorry I punched you".

The benevolent behemoth tipped its nose and made its way back to the depths.

Jaune and Pyrrha sat on the sand and watched the sun rise, heralding a new day.

"Do you think you're well enough to make your way back to the others yet?"

Jaune shook his leg giving Pyrrha's make shift bandage a try. It stung but he could walk.

"Yeah I could but…"he slung his arm over Pyrrha's shoulder.

"Just look at it", he sighed.

Pyrrha rested her head on his shoulder, as the pair saw a barrage of rays breaks through the dark sky, signalling the beginning of new and brighter day.

"Beautiful".

"So, I take it you might want to give swimming a pass, huh?"

She looked at him, baffled.

"Are you serious? That was incredible! Jaune, thank you for reminding me why I loved the sea so much. I spent so long thinking about how savage and dangerous it was, that I'd completely forgotten how beautiful it was".

"Glad I could help".

"And Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"When we were in the cave…thank you for saving me".

"Your welcome. I actually didn't mind savin you myself either. Ugh…not that I wanted to kiss you or anything! Well, I mean of course, I wouldn't mind kissing you, I mean who wouldn't, but…well…I just…"

Pyrrha cupped his chin and turned his face to her's.

"Jaune", she whispered.

"Pyrrha…"

"There they are!"

 _Oh dammit!_

Pyrrha turned to find Yang and Ruby, accompanied by a very frustrated looking Professor Goodwitch.

"Where on Remnant were you two!?", she barked. "I was nearly convinced that the storm had swept you off the face of the world when you didn't arrive back at the shelter!"

"We're sorry Miss Goodwitch, we were very far out and…."

"And on that note, why didn't you turn back once that monster was sighted! If you two weren't so far out, you may have noticed the entire school was already following proper safety procedures and exiting the water!"

Glynda sighed and placed a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. She took a deep breath and spoke in a much calmer manner.

"In any case, I'm glad you're both alive and well. Save for young master Arc's leg, but you appear to have taken care of it. Never the less, I expect you to report to the infirmary as soon as possible, do I make myself clear young man!"

"Yes maam," saluted a scared Jaune.

 _He looks more afraid of Professor Goodwitch than the shark._

"You guys got off lucky", sighed a relieved Ruby.

"Yeah", chuckled Yang. "Cardin got trashed".

 _Oh yes, I'd forgotten about Cardin._

"Yes. Mister Winchester took it upon himself to foolishly impersonate a shark and thus provoke the beat's territorial instincts. He washed up before the storm occurred. He's stable now, but his legs were completely broken…again".

"Yeah, and he keeps screamin, "Shark!", every five minutes".

"Thank you Miss Xiao Long".

Glynda walked off to inform the Academy that she'd managed to successfully keep all her students alive.

Ruby and Yang zoomed up to them.

"Seriously, how'd you to get away from that storm and that huge monster shark?"

Pyrrha looked to Jaune.

 _There's no way they would ever believe us_

"We…don't remember. We must have passed out and washed up on the shore".

"Huh. I guess you could say you guys…jumped the shark?"

The other three students sighed at the busty blonde's painfully bad pun.

"Dammit Yang", whined Ruby.

"What it was too easy".

"We'll meet you guys at the infirmary, try not to be late.

Pyrrha chuckled at the sisters bickering about shark puns and turned back to Jaune.

"They'll never know what really happened will they?"

"Nah. Keep it between us. Gotta say, even for us that was weird".

"Indeed. Brave, kind and fiercely determined. It was impressive".

"You two have a lot in common. But don't worry you still look _way_ prettier than scarface".

Pyrrha lightly elbowed Jaune good-naturedly, earning an amused smirk from the blonde knight.

"And if it wasn't for you, he'd still just be another monster. Just something else everyone thinks he should be".

 _Just like me_

"Thank you Jaune. I don't know how, but whenever you're near, I feel like I don't have to be afraid of anything. Being a lone. The sea. You always find a way to save the day".

"He don't put yourself down "Shark Master". I still can't believe we won't tell them _that_ part".

Pyrrha just laughed at Jaune's response. He was always like that. So kind and funny. He was oblivious to many things, but he was still the first person to see _her_. And that's all she cared about.

"So Pyrrha, I was just thinkin…"

"Hmm?"

"I don't know, where the infirmary is exactly and I bet it might take us a few tries to find it. Plus it's such a lovely sunrise, don't ya think?"

Pyrrha grinned mischievously, completely aware of where he was going with this.

"What are you saying?", she practically purred.

"Well, it's just with my bad leg, you wouldn't let me limp around this lovely beach beside the sun all on my own, would you?", he said in mock hurt that made her giggle.

She let him put his arm around her shoulder, supporting him as they walked along the golden beach to the beginning of a new day.

And perhaps, the beginning of something else.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hospital**

Another swing of her sword and another charred, smoking corpse falling to the ground. Needless to say, the Grimm didn't know what hit them.

When the village West of Sector 3 called in a massive Grimm presence heading towards them, only team JNPR remained available to cover the inhabitant's evacuation.

This attack was not the typical result of a mindless horde of the nightmarish Grimm creatures attacking out of physcotic rage, but was disturbingly well organised, with the monsters tricking the local militia into pursuing a feint retreat, only to be completely overwhelmed by the true pack.

With no local defences left for the civilians and the Grimm advancing closer to the village, it was vital that General Ironwood have hunters on the ground to assist his men.

And that, was where JNPR came in.

Not even a few minutes in and the team had successfully slaughtered three waves of the fiends.

 _But each wave was worse than the last. The bulk of this pack is still out there_

But if her team was worried, Pyrrha couldn't see it.

Ren was as quiet as ever, cleaning bit of dead Grimm ash off of his beloved StormFlower. Nora was swinging Magnhild around, swatting the many "broken" Grimm around them to clear the battlefield for the team.

And Jaune?

Jaune was scoping the area ahead for incoming Grimm forces. It was hard to picture him as the goofball "Vomit Boy" when he was standing atop three dead Ursai with an unusually confident grin on his face.

 _He's really stepped up as a leader_

"Hey Ren, how many did you get? No never mind, probably like a gazillion or something like that knowing you", the hyperactive hammer wielder babbled.

"Nora, there were only about fifty attacking us", Ren replied, in his ever calm monotone.

"Only fifty gazillion!? Wow! I could have sworn there was a hundred gazillion! How much lien do you think we could make selling them as rugs? It would probably be a lot, like ten lien a rug. Hey! That would give us five hundred gazillion Lien to spend!"

Nora cocked her head in a daydream.

"Think of all the pancakes…", she sighed, drooling at the mouth.

Ren merely rolled his eyes and smiled at his partner's enthusiasm.

 _If Remnant offered a pancake for every dead Grimm, Nora would've ended these monsters a long time ago_

"Hey Pyrrha, come take a look at this!", Jaune called out.

She climbed atop the makeshift lookout tower they'd made out of the fallen Grimm and stood beside him.

"Here, take a look and tell me what you see", Jaune said passing the binoculars to Pyrrha. By the tone of his voice, it was not good news.

Pyrrha looked through the binoculars to find what was bulk of Grimm host, apparently being led by a very large Beowolf Major. They were only a few klicks away and were moving fast.

"I see", she said, a mixture of bewilderment and fear present in her voice.

"Yeah, that's our target", Jaune responded.

"Nora, Ren, we have a plan to make", Jaune called out.

The four of them huddled up together, hunkered down on their knees as Jaune traced a battle plan in the dirt with his sword.

"Okay guys, were headin for the alpha wolf. There's no way we'll be able to take the whole horde, but if we take out the leader, they'll go back to be dumb and angry instead of clever and angry".

"Nora, you're the tank on this one. Draw their attention away us".

Nora cackled.

"Another wave of Grimm are gonna get broken", she grinned eagerly.

 _I can't believe I feel sorry for the Grimm_

"Ren, you and me are gonna give Pyrrha cover. We'll flank her and help carve a path to the alpha.

"Understood".

"Pyrrha, you're up against the alpha, Ren and I will keep the others off you. Once you take it out, the Grimm will panic and General Ironwood's androids will wipe out the rest".

Pyrrha nodded.

This plan had to succeed. If JNPR couldn't take out this horde, then Ironwood's androids would be wiped out and that village would fall. That wasn't something Pyrrha was about to let that happen.

"All right guys. Let's go kick some Grimm butt!", Jaune yelled, holding his sword in the air.

The team raised their weapons high and charged into battle.

The front line Grimm beasts consisted of Creeps and Beowolves, with Ursai serving as the heavy infantry. Now, they'd been all but smashed by Nora's hammer. She'd managed to secure a well-fortified position in the forest, that allowed her to use the trees to stop the Grimm attacking her from either the sides or behind her. That left only a tight, bottleneck for them to charge at her, allowing her just pummel them up, one by one.

That had allowed Pyrrha, flanked by Ren and Jaune to charge past the first few waves of the Grimm and smash through the unsuspecting remaining Grimm. Ren took out the Nevermore scouts and disabled the vulnerable chinks in the Deathstalker's armour, crippling them, while Jaune held back and Boarbatusks and Ursai with his shield and striking at their unprotected underbellies.

And Pyrrha?

Well, she was Pyrrha. Nothing in her way really lasted that long.

They'd reached the alpha. It was easily three times taller than the rest of its kind and was made noticeable by the various protruding bones covering its body. It instantly recognised the team as the ones who'd been foiling its attack and unleashed a blood curdling howl as narrow red slits locked one to them, pulsating with rage.

Pyrrha raised her guard and pointed her javelin towards the beast.

"Cover me", she called to Jaune and Ren.

As her friends held back the guards, Pyrrha leapt towards the commander. The frist strike wasn't intended to hit the Beowolf. She knew it was far too clever to fall for a basic attack, so instead employed a feint. It dodged, but Pyrrha anticipated the reflex and positioned her shield for a brutal bash to the face, knocking teeth straight out of its jaws.

Enraged, the Beowolf responded out of irrational anger rather than calculation and used a blunt but powerful swipe. She took the hit, rolling with the blow and ending up underneath the creature. She then shortened Milo into sword form and sliced at the alpha's ankles, causing it to collapse.

The monster dropped on all fours for support. The young gladiator saw the vulnerable space between the shoulder plates and raised her sword for the killing blow.

Before she could plunge her blade into its back, the alpha leapt away from the sword, instead heading towards…

 _No. Jaune!_

He was currently occupied fending off an Ursa and wouldn't see the alpha until it was too late.

Her heart racing, Pyrrha changed Milo into its rifle form and fired off shots at the alpha. The bullets merely bounced off its skeletal armour.

Petrified, Pyrrha tried to reach Jaune in time, but a flock of angry Nevermore chicks had homed in on her. She batted away the shrilling birds but there were too many.

The alpha was almost upon him now. All Pyrrha could do was call out to him.

"Jaune, look out behind you!", she yelled.

In that moment, Pyrrha didn't know if it was because the din of battle drowned her out, or in her haste to reach the beast she didn't call out in time. Either way, Jaune didn't turn around and for that mistake, he suffered a dire consequence.

Through teary eyes, Pyrrha watched on in horror, as the alphas claws pierced through Jaune's back. His face contorted in agonising pain, his eyes shut tight and his mouth wide, howling in pain and coughing up blood.

That's when it all came rushing back to Pyrrha.

 _My nightmare_

The horrible dream she had over a week ago. This was the alpha she saw in her nightmare.

 _He wasn't hurt because I was quick to fight. He was hurt because I wasn't fast enough. It's all my fault_

On a scale of one to ten of excruciating pain, Jaune was pretty certain the feeling of a Beowolf stabbing him in the back was at fifty.

It raised him up high, then tossed him violently to the ground.

Jaune groaned in pain, his ribs cracking upon impact with the floor and blood spewing from his mouth.

He tried desperately to crawl to his sword, but with every effort, his suffering increased.

With a heavy stomp, the alpha brought Jaune to the ground. If knocked the wind right out of him. He wasn't getting back up any time soon.

A cold hand griped his shoulder. Its razor sharp claws digging into his flesh and puncturing his skin.

The alpha turned Jaune over to face it. It raised its paw, stained in Jaune's own blood, gaining momentum for the killing blow.

Before Beacon, Jaune would've looked away and screamed.

Hell, he was still tempted to.

But he wasn't the boy he used to be. He was Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR.

If he was going to die, it would be as a Huntsman.

He focused his blue eyes right back at his enemy's crimson ones and spat right in its face.

It snarled. He smiled.

Its paw hurtled towards his head at lightning speed, until it was cut short by a flash of red and bronze steel. In a movement faster than reason, the paw and its owners head toppled to the ground, severed from the body. The space were the wolf's head used to be revealed a very tired and sacred Pyrrha, covered in scratches and ash, her emerald eyes shimmering with tears at the sight of Jaune's broken body.

As the blonde boy fell, she dived to catch him, breaking his fall.

She cradled him close to her, her eyes pleading with his, begging them not to close.

"Jaune…", she just about said, a clear hitch in her voice.

 _No Pyrrha. Please don't do this to yourself. Not for me_

It had been his own damn fault. It was his plan, he'd left her alone and left himself exposed. And now he knew that if he didn't stay with her, Pyrrha was going to blame herself for his mistake.

She was like that. Sometimes he would wish she would stop thinking about everyone else. For her sake. But that was Pyrrha for you.

Incredible.

Jaune could feel himself slipping.

 _No don't you dare. Don't dare leave her like this! You can't do this to her!_

"Jaune", she whimpered. "It's…it's okay Jaune. Look, the Grimm are falling back, see? Ironwood's androids are wiping them out, we saved the village. We're going to…", she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"We're going to get you some help. You'll be fine Jaune. Just please…please stay with me".

Jaune's heart was being torn apart with every word she said.

He used all of his might to stay awake. He strained to talk, but managed to form the words he needed to say.

"Pyrrha…"

"No, don't talk. Just breathe. You need to stay…"

"Pyrrha….want you to know…being your partner…your friend…best thing that's ever happened to me in my whole life. Don't ever…ever blame yourself…."

He reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Pyrrha…I should have said this to you at the dance…been an idiot waiting this long…"

"Jaune please just hang on! Please", Pyrrha shrieked.

Ren and Nora walked towards Pyrrha and Jaune as Ironwood's force cleared the Grimm.

"Well I think victory pancakes are in order. Dibs on the syr-…",

As soon as the pair caught sight of Jaune, they hurried towards their leader. Nora frantically called for a medic, demanding someone help them.

"Medic! Medic! We need help NOW!"

"Jaune, Pyrrha, what happened?"

Pyrrha looked to Ren. She knew what to say but her heart just didn't want the words to be said.

"I'll get help", Ren said, as he dashed to the nearest shuttle he could.

"Pyrrha…I…I…I lov…"

His eyelids became so heavy. Too heavy to fight any more. His muscles gave out and the lack of blood had exhausted him. As his vision faded, the last sight Jaune caught was Pyrrha's tear stained face.

Only one thing came to his mind before all faded to black.

 _I love you Pyrrha Nikos._

Then silence fell and all was dark.

Three days.

Three days, Pyrrha waited outside those horrible, white doors.

Three days her mind haunted her with images of her partner under the scalpel in the operating theatre.

Three days hauned by what he said.

Or rather, what he never got to say. What she was robbed of.

 _He was going to say it. He was going to say he loved…_

Pyrrha was pulled back to reality be Nora patting her shoulder. She offered a supportive smile and a hot coffee.

The red head gave her the best smile she could.

"He's going to be fine".

"He was going to say it Nora. He was going to tell me…he was so close".

"And from what I heard he also told you not to blame yourself".

Nora placed her hand on Pyrrha's trembling one.

"So please. For Jaune, for the team and for you, please get some sleep or eat something. You've been here for three days. Me or Ren will tell you if he wakes up".

Pyrrha was tempted to.

God she hadn't had a good meal in a while.

And her eyes were so, _so_ sore from staying awake.

But she couldn't.

 _I have to be the first person he sees when he wakes up_

 _I have to know he was serious_

"Thank you Nora. But I…"

The doors swung open, revealing a doctor with long chocolate brown hair and a large pair of faunus ears.

The girls looked up at the woman in white, Pyrrha clasping Nora's hands for support, bracing for support.

"Miss Nikos", the doctor said.

"Yes?"

"I have good news", she said through a smile as warm as a Summer's day.

"Your friend is alive and is on his way to recovering. Though he will need quite a bit of rest for the time being".

"May I go see him? Please, I just want a minute".

"Normally we don't allow visitors after the patient has just left theatre. Especially seeing as this particular case involved such…severe damage".

Pyrrha looked down at the floor , gloomily.

The doctor then approached Pyrrha.

"I seem to recall however, that my niece Velvet spoke quite a bit about you two. And that it was you and mister Arc who helped her deal with that dreadful lout Cardin Winchester".

"You know Cardin?", Nora interjected.

"He's three wards down with broken legs screaming about sharks".

Nora looked pleadingly at Pyrrha.

"Yes Nora, you can go".

"Whoo hoo! I'm gonna practice on the way there. Duh dum. Duh dum. Duh dum, duh dum".

The doctor smiled.

"Well, seeing as I just broke patient confidentiality to ruin my niece's tormentor's day, why don't we see if we can't get you that minute you asked for".

"Thank you so much doctor…"

"Scarlatina. Doctor Maisy Scarlatina. And you'll never need to thank me. My niece has been so scared of thugs like mister Winchester for too long. It's people like you and mister Arc, people who don't see an outsider but a person that has made her happy".

 _That's Jaune. He always see's what no one else can_

"Your friend is in the Gray Wing".

Pyrrha nodded, appreciatively and hurried down the corridors to find Jaune.

Pyrrha looked Jaune, his body unsettlingly still.

It pained her to see him like this. So lifeless. A shell of the wonderful, goofy, oblivious kind boy she was proud to call friend.

She placed a hand to his face, shuddering at how cold to the touch it was.

Then, she knelt down and whispered to him, in hopes of reaching him wherever he was.

"Jaune, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need to say this anyway. If I never get another chance and I don't do this now, I'm going to go insane".

She moved a little closer, insuring only she and Jaune could be party to this moment.

 _Just us. For once just us_

"I want you to know Jaune, I'll be waiting for you. No matter how long it takes, when you wake I _will_ be here for you. Because…"

Her voice hitched, but she had to say it.

"Because I love you Jaune Arc".

Nora arrived shortly to walk Pyrrha out.

Reluctantly, she parted from Jaune's still unconscious form.

Had she stayed a moment longer, she may have noticed a single tear, trickling down the face of Jaune Arc.


	5. Chapter 5

**Feelings**

Pyrrha was in the waiting room. Doctor Scarlatina was nice enough to allow her to sleep there as she waited for Jaune to wake up.

Everyone kept telling her that the signs were good and that he'd be up anyday now.

But it had been two long, painful weeks, with not so much as a twitch.

She'd been checking up on him for every last day of those two weeks, waiting for hours upon hours for anything.

A twitch, a groan, anything that would tell her Jaune was coming back to her. Upon insistence from Ren and Nora, Pyrrha allowed herself occasional peroids of rest away from Jaune in the waiting room, while one of them would keep watch for any sign of movement.

She was grateful for the reprieve, but every second away from him broke her heart.

The doors swung open to reveal a particularly happy Nora, skipping into the waiting room. Pyrrha could only assume that she'd just returned from tormenting Cardin.

Pyrrha couldn't help but conjure up a weak smile at the thought of the overgrown bully getting a taste of what it's like to be afraid.

 _I should feel sorry and yet…no nothing_

"Gooood mooooorrrnniiiing!", sung the bubbly berserker.

Pyrrha made some room, clearing herself of Nora's cannonball straight onto the sofa that had served as Pyrrha's bed.

Nora reached into her pocket to pull out several packets of sweets and chocolate.

"I got them from the vending machine outside. Here have some".

Pyrrha raised her eyebrow quizzically. "Nora, how'd you even get enough lien to get all of that?"

"Why would I need lien?", replied a confused Nora.

It was Nora's confused face and the distant call of "Hey who smashed the vending machine!?", the allowed Pyrrha to put two and two together.

"Nora", she said sternly.

But one pair of puppy dog eyes and she was forgiven.

"It's very sweet of you Nora, but…"

"Oh no ya don't miss!", interjected Nora. "You are gonna waste away here if you don't eat anything and I will not allow my best friend, well best girl friend, not girlfriend girl friend, but you know what I mean. Anyway, my point is, you have to eat something, so take a chocolate bar", she pleaded.

"Thank you Nora", Pyrrha said, gratefully accepting the food.

It was nothing special, just the typical sugar filled treats you could find in any vending machine in vale. But after two weeks of stressful waiting, the confectionary snacks provided a brief sensation of joy, even if it was only temporary.

"Mmmmh, these are good Nora".

"Yeah. The chocolate squares are awesome!"

The two girls sat on the couch, enjoying the candy for a good while. Then, Nora being Nora, was the first to break the silence.

Only this time, her face did not have the typically carefree expression was replaced with one bearing a far more serious guise.

"Pyrrha, it wasn't your fault…"

Pyrrha waved a hand to interject.

"I know Nora. It was a fierce battle and casualties are always possible. I knew that when I signed up for Beacon".

"I wasn't talking about Jaune's injuries. I meant it's not your fault you didn't tell him you…"

Pyrrha hung her head down, not wanting Nora to continue. Nora merely leaned in, determined to make her point known.

"You love him Pyrrha. You know it".

Pyrrha raised her head back up a little to look Nora in the eye.

"I had so much time to tell him. Why did I wait so long? Why couldn't I have been brave enough to just tell him that?"

Nora reached out and hugged Pyrrha tightly.

"You are brave Pyrrha! You're like, the bravest person in Remnant. You're just really nervous".

"What if…what if he doesn't feel the same and I ruin on of the first few real friendships I've ever had in my life? If I…"

Nora straightened Pyrrha's posture, turning her shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes, her own blue ones filled with absolute certainty in her words.

"Pyrrha, there are only two ways you telling the truth could go. Either, A, Jaune doesn't somehow feel the same way about you and you two feel awkward for like, a week at most, because that guy really, really, REALLY likes you and wouldn't stop being your friend even if meant a horrible, nasty, painful…"

"Uhm, Nora?"

"You get the idea. Or, B, you tell him how you feel, he feels the same, you two are happy, I'm very happy and Ren, well Ren won't say much but he'll be happy too, but not as happy as me cus you two together is gonna be so cute and then you two will be even happier than me because you'll be in love!"

Pyrrha could only look in astonishment as Nora finished all of that without a single breathe while speaking. But more importantly, she was right.

She and Jaune had forged a bond over the past year. One that no mere words, good or ill, would ever destroy that. If at worst, they'd feel a little uncomfortable, maybe even hurt for a while, their friendship would still stay strong.

But if he really did feel the same…

If what he was going to say on the battle field was what she hoped for, what she _prayed_ for…

 _Then nothing is too costly for that._

 _And no fear is strong enough to keep me from that_

Pyrrha inhaled deeply, stood up, and spoke.

"I'm going to tell him. As soon as he wakes up I'm going to tell him that I love him".

Nora sprung right of off the sofa and jumped up and down, practically squealing.

"Yay!"

Pyrrha brought Nora into a hug, thankful for the push her friend gave her.

 _Now I just need to wait for Jaune to wake up…_

And at that very moment, Dr Scaraltina walked in.

"Miss Nikos, I have good news. Mr Ren just sent word. It appears Mr Arc has woken up and is, very insistent that he speak with you.

Pyrrha didn't know what to do.

No, she did know what to do, she just had trouble believing this was real.

Nora tugged at her arm, smiling warmly.

"What are you waiting for? Go to him".

Pyrrha nodded, thanked Dr Scarlatina profusely for everything and then bolted down that hall.

 _This is it. This is the day I tell him the truth_

"Ooooooowwwwwwwwww".

It wasn't much, but it accurately summed up how Jaune was feeling.

His pack felt like a swarm if tiny insects were biting away at his skin.

He strained to open his eyes, his vision blurry at first.

It didn't take him long to recognise his surroundings as that of a hospital. If all the machinery and white wasn't a good enough clue, the pain in his back was a pretty good reason for him to be here.

Jaune had very grizzly memories of how exactly he got that pain. He was no stranger to ferocious Grimm but this one prolonged his suffering, like it was enjoying it.

 _If I ever see that much of my own blood again, it'll be too soon_

Still, it could be worse. His head and chest were pretty much back to normal, save for a few sores here and there and his back only really hurt if he got up to quickly.

As his vision became clearer, he saw a familiar green outline, with a hint of black at the top.

 _Wait that's a person. I know who that is_

He squinted to see Ren, patiently reading a book at the end of the room.

Naturally Jaune was pleased to see a familiar face after nothing but darkness for…

 _How long have I been asleep?_

In truth it wasn't just the darkness that haunted him. While he was asleep, Jaune was haunted by a cruel dream. A dream in which all he could hear was Pyrrha's lovely voice. And the only words she said were, "I love you Jaune Arc".

Figures that the only way to make nearly being eaten by a monster Grimm worse is to be taunted with the words he so desperately wanted to hear, but never would.

At that moment, Ren noticed out of the corner of his eye that his leader was now awake. Even for his calm demeanour, he burst out into a very pleased grin.

"Jaune, you're awake. Excellent".

"Hey Ren", he grunted with a smile as he tried to sit himself up. It hurt at first, so Ren closed his book and strolled up to his friend, helping him up.

"Thanks man".

"Of course. However I must point out that the doctors did specify against increased movement".

"Yeah", Jaune chuckled. "Gonna have to agree with them on that.

Ren stayed there with Jaune for a while, making sure he was okay.

"Well, I should go tell Pyrrha and Nora that you're awake".

 _Pyrrha_

Just then it all flooded back to him.

Her worry stricken face.

Her secure and gentle embrace as he bled all over the floor.

His attempt to tell Pyrrha how he loved her.

Before Ren could make it to the double doors, Jaune called him back over.

"Ren, wait a minute".

Ren turned around sharply and walked back up to Jaune.

"Pyrrha…when I was stabbed by the alpha, I was going to tell her…"

Jaune didn't know if he could go on speaking.

 _No you damn coward, you are going to tell the truth_

"I was going to tell her I love her".

Ren merely looked around awkwardly.

"Uhhhh…."

"Gah! I knew it was weird! I mean, what am I thinking? But I can't help it Ren. I mean, Pyrrha's just…perfect".

He hung his head solemnly.

"I know she hates people calling her that but it's true. She's kind, funny, smart, beautiful, a total badass and...she never thinks about herself. Even if she deserves to more than anyone else".

Ren tried to back off slowly out the door, but froze again when Jaune turned back to him.

"And me…I'm just an idiot who got here by dumb luck. There's no way in a million years. She's amazing and I'm me. It's just never gonna happen".

He looked downtrodden at the floor.

"Even if I really wish it could".

 _And I do. God I really do_

Ren stopped trying to flee upon seeing his friend's misery.

"Jaune…"

"And what if I screw everything up!? Pyrrha is the best partner and friend I could ever ask for. If I throw that away, I'll never be able to forgive myself. I can't".

"Uh…"

"But…what if…", Jaune shook his head.

"Nah it's stupid".

But when did that ever stop Jaune?

"But, and this is a very slim chance, what if she felt the same? What if she felt the same way as I do? What if she really felt the same way?"

Ren raised a hand to speak, but was cut off by Jane's sudden burst of optimism and so remained silent.

"Yeah, what if she did? That would be…Ren that what be amazing! And even if she doesn't, she's a great, caring person. She's a real friend and me and her would get over this. She'd never let what we have die, not without a fight. Cardin couldn't wreck it and neither could a monster sized Grimm. And if she does feel the same way…then I am done waiting to tell her how much I've loved her for all this time".

He looked over to Ren, his eyes bright and his smile wide.

"I'm gonna tell her Ren. The minute she walks through those doors, I'll tell her".

 _It's about damn time_

"Thanks for the talk Ren".

Ren smiled and nodded.

"Anytime Jaune".

Ren made his way to the doors, but was called back to again by Jaune.

"Hey Ren? I know a bunch of doctors are gonna come in soon poking aound and running tests, but before all that…could you bring Pyrrha here?"

Jaune couldn't see Ren's grin.

"Jaune, it would be my pleasure".

Jaune lay back down and waited.

 _This is it. This is the day I've been waiting for_

Pyrrha was still racing down the hall upon Ren's contacting doctor Scarlatina.

She'd never moved so quick in her life.

She dodged patients and hospital staff alike.

Nothing was going to stop her.

She arrived at the doors keeping her from Jaune's room and kicked the doors wide open.

And then, the two only looked at each other, speechless.

A million thoughts racing through their heads.

One stood out amongst them all.

 _I have to say it_


	6. Chapter 6

**Together-Together**

 _Okay Jaune, get it together. You can do this_

For what felt like forever, Pyrrha and Jaune stared at each other in awe, neither one saying so much as a word since Pyrrha's dramatic entrance.

A man on a mission, Jaune was determined to hell and nothing was going to stop him.

"Pyrrha I…I…I'm really glad you're here".

 _Okay baby steps_

Upon hearing his voice, Pyrrha rushed up to him and hugged him, burying her face in his collar.

It hurt quite a bit at first, but Jaune was willing to endure a little stinging from his wounds if he got to be close to Pyrrha.

He snaked his arms around her, gently pulling her closely towards him.

"Jaune", she cried, her voice a little muffled.

"I'm so happy you're awake. I was so worried that…"

"Hey it's okay Pyrrha. I'm fine now. Even better actually now that you're here".

The amazon had a fierce blush on her face upon hearing Jaune's compliment.

Reluctantly, Pyrrha released her hold on Jaune and pulled up a chair to sit next to him.

She inhaled deeply, readying herself to speak.

"Jaune. There's something I need to tell you".

Jaune straightened himself up, giving Pyrrha his full attention.

"Jaune, back on the battlefield, when you were wounded. You were going to say something to me".

 _Okay Juane, you've gotta do it now_

"I don't know if you knew what it sounded like, but I wanted to let you know how I…how I feel about you. As a friend and…"

Jaune panicked and before he could consciously register his actions, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Pyrrha I…"

Pyrrha stopped talking looking to Jaune with an unnerving expression of curiosity and nervousness at his next choice of words.

 _Crap_

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat and prepared to speak.

 _Well, here goes nothing_

"Pyrrha I know what you're thinking, but I'm sorry. I feel…differently about you".

Pyrrha looked to the ground, saddened. Her heart shattering into a thousand pieces.

"I…understand Jaune. I'm sorry for…"

"No Pyrrha wait!"

 _Oh God what did I do? Why am I doing this!?_

Though it pained her, Pyrrha remained in the room with her friend.

"Pyrrha I'm sorry. But I can't…I can't help how I feel about you".

Pyrrha stood before him, confused.

"What can't you help?"

"I can't help that I…I…"

 _Oh for God's sake, just say it!_

"I love you!"

Time froze.

Everything in that one room seemed to move at a fraction of its actual speed.

Pyrrha gasped at Jaune's revelation, whereas the blonde boy could only look to his knees, too scared to meet his partner's eyes.

"Wh…what?", Pyrrha managed to jitter out, her voice shaky with shock.

"I said I love you", Jaune breathed.

 _There. I did it_

But to be honest, Jaune did not know if he felt better or worse for finally saying it.

"I've wanted to tell you for so long", he whispered.

"I think I've loved you since that dance. Or the first night on the roof. Hell maybe even before that, but I was too stupid to understand".

He held back a wave of tears and steeled himself against the hitching in his voice.

"But whenever the heck I started feeling this way about you, you've been all I could think of. You're smart, brave, kind, beautiful and…"

He inhaled a deep, shuddery breathe.

"You are the most amazing person, I could ever have to call a friend. And that's why I never said anything. Because if I did and I ruined what we have, if I destroyed one of the first and greatest friendships I've ever had, I'd never forgive myself".

"And even then I screwed it up. I didn't want to tell you in case I hurt you. And now that I did, you're upset and I'm such an idiot and I'm so, so sorry Pyrrha. But I love you. And it's been killing me, to choose between keeping my friend or never telling you. So there it is. That's what I've wanted to say to you on the battlefield. And probably a lot sooner than that too".

Jaune finally looked back up at his partner.

To his horror, she crying, her face covered by her hands.

 _No Pyrrha, please…_

Jaune was about to talk Pyrrha around, until he heard…

 _No it can't be…_

 _Laughter?_

 _Is she…laughing?_

Sure enough, as Pyrrha's hands fell from her face, Pyrrha was laughing.

Though her eyes shimmered with tears and he laughter just a little bit watery, she looked…happy?

"Jaune…", she breathed.

She ran towards him.

"Oh Jaune! I love you too!", she cried in joy, hugging him tightly.

 _Wait what? What!?_

 _She loves me? SHE LOVES ME!_

Jaune's train of thought was thrown out the second Pyrrha said those words he'd thought he'd only hear in dreams.

He instinctively hugged her back, not minding the slight aches it caused him, he hugged her as tightly as he could pulling her close to him.

"Jaune, I've wanted to tell you for so long. But I was afraid. I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same. That somehow you thought you and I couldn't be…

"I thought you would never feel this way about me. I thought…"

 _Man it feels stupid saying this now after…this_

"I thought you were way too good for me".

"Jaune", Pyrrha said, starring him straight in the eyes, relaying how serious she was.

"You are my best friend. You are never less than me. Please don't ever think that again. It just not true".

"Okay Pyrrha", he whispered, in awe at her sincerity.

They hugged again, sharing each other's warmth and allowing their breathing to slow down and settle back to normal.

"But ya know, even if I can't think you're too good for me, I'm still gonna think you're incredible right?"

Pyrrha's mumbled chuckles was music to Jaune's ears.

Pyrrha sighed, over dramactically.

"I suppose I'll just have to live with that".

Jaune smiled.

"Oh yes you'll have to. Because despite what you think Pyrrha Nikos, you are, without a doubt, the most amazing woman I've ever met".

Pyrrha lifted her head so that Jaune's face was meeting her own, their smiles mirroring each other.

Their smiles fell and their lips pursed together as their eyes slowly shut.

And at last, the two hunter's lips met each other, clumsy and unpractised, but with all the power of the longing the two felt for each other, finally shared in one single moment.

Only parting for air, the two starred breathlessly at each other.

"That was…perfect".

"Yeah. Completely perfect".

Jaune grinned.

"Wanna do it again?"

Pyrrha threw her head back laughing, her red hair flying back with her. She then looked back down to Jaune, a devilish glint in her eyes.

"Do you even need to ask?"

Pyrrha descended upon Jaune, the two's lips crashing together in a far more passionate kiss than before.

Just then, Nora, Ren and Doctor Scarlatina walked in.

"Hey Pyrrha, I got more of those chocolate bars you like from the broken vending machine. There a bit melty but…."

Nora dropped everything she was holding and all three stopped on the stop at the sight of Pyrrha and Jaune kissing.

If the pair noticed the presence of the others, they didn't show it as they remained as they were.

Nora squealed in absolute delight.

"Yeeeeeesssss! Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

She glomped a very confused Ren, tears streaming down her face.

"Ren. This, Is, Happening!", she cried out loud.

"Wait. What is happening?"

"I believe Miss Nikos and Mr Arc could use some time together. Come along".

Doctor Scarlatina ushered the two out, albeit with Ren having to drag Nora away.

The two laughed.

"I take it they know now?".

"I believe if Nora knows, soon everyone else will".

Jaune sniggered.

"Well then, may as well make it official. Pyrrha Nikos, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

Pyrrha smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Was there ever really a chance I was going to say no to that after all this?"

She rested her head on Jaune's left shoulder.

"I love you Jaune".

"I love you too Pyrrha. I always will".

It had been eight weeks, since Jaune left the hospital.

All in all, he'd made a fantastic recovery. The doctors had did a fantastic job at patching him up and his aura had dealt with all the minor wounds that remained, leaving very faint traces of where the slash had been made.

At the moment, Jaune was standing on top of the rooftop, where his life truly began to look a bit brighter.

 _Man, how long has it been since that first night up here with her?_

Speaking of Pyrrha, the young gladiator had managed to sneak up behind the blonde boy.

"Couldn't get any sleep?"

"Nah, just wanted to get some air. Courtyard looks real creepy at night and the roof top just feels…comfortable".

Pyrrha walked up and wrapped her arms around Jaune's shoulders from behind.

"Feel more comfortable now?"

"Oh yes. Very comfortable", he sighed.

Jaune placed his hand on hers, turning her around to face him. The pair looked deep into each other's eyes. Sparkling emerald pools met sapphire, straining not to get lost in each other's gaze.

"So, what do we do now?", Jaune asked.

"Now", Pyrrha parroted.

"Now, we face whatever the world throws at us, together. And then I guess we take it from there".

"I can really get behind that plan".

Pyrrha laughed.

The two of them stood in light of a broken moon, united together.

"Pyrrha, if this isn't a dream, I'm gonna punch the first person who wakes me up".

"I wholeheartedly agree".

"Uh, I mean unless it's you. I mean I wouldn't punch you. I don't think I could without breaking my hand and even if I did I'd feel bad. Or if it was any of the guys cuz, well you know, they're our friends. And if it's any of the professors then…"

"Jaune. Breathe", Pyrrha interjected.

Jaune took a massive inhale.

"Right thanks".

"Don't mention it".

Then Pyrrha touched her head against Jaunes, closing her eyes and smiling.

 _I haven't been this happy for as long I can remember_

Jaune hugged her closer.

"So, is it gonna be this nice outside _all_ night tonight?"

Pyrrha opened her eyes.

"It's supposed to be quite calm, why?"

"Well, if we were to be _accidentally_ locked out of our room tonight, we'd be forced to have a wonderful night underneath a full moon and all the stars. It just, seems like such dangerously possible outcome".

It took Pyrrha a mere five seconds to cop on.

She flashed a wicked grin and outstretched her hand, using her polarity to lock the windows shut.

"Oh dear. Jaune, it looks like we'll just have to enjoy the quiet, beautiful night sky alone together".

Jaune gasped in mock horror.

"No! Really? Oh dammit".

 _God I love him_

Jaune sighed.

"Well, I guess we'll just have suffer through it".

"I think we'll manage".

And whilst the rest of Beacon slept peacefully, two lovers kissed under the night sky.

Even when surrounded by darkness, the two would always bring light to the other's life, for as long as they lived.


	7. Chapter 7

**Bonus**

 **Many Years Later…**

Pyrrha turned the house key and opened the front door so she could get in the house.

"Mom!"

Right on cue, Pyrrha knelt down to catch a small blonde haired boy, whose height reached up to her waist.

She scooped up the child and spun him around, savouring the delighted giggles emitted from the young lad upon seeing his mother.

She hugged him tightly and he eagerly returned the gesture.

"Well, someone's happy"

"I missed you mom", the boy mumbled as released his mother.

"You'll never guess what happened today. No wait, do guess you won't get it". The boy quickly shook his head. "No forget that, I don't want to wait too long to tell you. I'll do it now. You ready?"

Pyrrha smirked at her son's ability to speak a mile a minute when he was excited.

 _Just like his father_

"Okay Milo, slow down". Milo did as he was told and took a deep breathe.

"Good. Now, what is it you're so desperate to tell me?"

Milo chuckled to himself before straightening up and clearing his throat for the big announcement.

"I got a call from Kiara. She told me we just got accepted into Signal! We're going to Signal!"

Pyrrha could understand Milo's excitement. Not only was training at Signal his dream since he was a toddler, well he wanted to go to Beacon but he knew he had to pass through Signal first, but now he could train there with Kiara, Weiss and Ruby's daughter and his best friend since their first meeting.

"Milo that's wonderful! You must be so excited".

"Well yeah! It's Signal! I'm gonna be a huntsman!"

"When do you begin?"

"Kay told me we have to be there for tomorrow. I've gotta…I've gotta pack my things. No wait, I did that".

Milo was pacing back and forth, frantically trying to remember what it was he was supposed to do.

"Do I have to tell Kiara? No, no! She told me, why would I have to tell her. Ugh! What was I supposed to do now?"

"Maybe you were supposed to go to bed? Ya know, so you don't sleep in tomorrow?", called a voice from the top of the stairs.

At the top was a blonde haired man, arms folded and a raised eyebrow at his son's explosive enthusiasm.

"Right! That was it, thanks dad".

"No problem Milo. No get ready for bed or you'll never go to sleep".

"Aww but daaaaad…"

"And no buts. I know auntie Nora gave you her special pancake syrup for the ride to Signal and I also know you've already had some".

"How?"

Jaune sighed and shook his head, though all the while smirking and laughing good naturedly.

"Let's see, the jumping up and down, the two empty bottles of it in your room and the fact that I was _there_ with Nora when she invented it and I know for a fact no living creature can go any longer than three hours without trying it".

Pyrrha chuckled at the memory of Nora's famous "Perfect Pancake Syrup" and how thorough she was in making sure it was, "The best syrup ever, of all time".

 _And Jaune's wrong. It's two and a half hours_

Pyrrha knelt down and gave Milo's shoulders a gentle squeeze, two pairs of green eyes locked onto each other.

"Milo, if you head up to bed now", she pulled him closer and whispered into his ears. "I'll sweet talk Ruby into making you some cookie for the ride".

Nothing, not gold or diamonds, would ever be worth more than Ruby Rose's legendary cookies.

"Deal!", he cheered, running up the stairs until stopping halfway and u-turning to race back down to give his mother a kiss goodnight.

"Love ya mom!"

"I love you too Milo".

He bolted back up the stair and hugged his father.

"Love ya dad".

Juane lightly hugged his son, a warm smile gracing his face.

"Goodnight Milo".

Pyrrha wiped a single tear away from her eye before anyone noticed.

Seeing the two men who meant the most to her in the world like this brought warm feeling to her heart.

Milo sped off to his bed, finally giving the couple the chance to be alone.

Pyrrha walked up the stairs and was pulled by Jaune into a kiss, light to the touch but still as strong with affection as their days in Beacon.

"Remind me to never to let Nora give him that stuff at night time".

"That never stopped us when we were in training".

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to calm down Milo at elven at night. You rember when he played, "the floor is lava" with Kiara after three bottles?"

Pyrrha shuddered.

They both agreed never to speak of the "Lava Floor Incident".

 _Even for Weiss that phone call was loud_

An ache in her shoulder made itself known and Pyrrha grunted in frustration. She craned her neck in various directions to try and limit the pain.

Jaune noticed it immediately.

"Tough day?"

"Yes", she sighed.

"Yang and Blake needed assistance routing a horde of Grimm trying to scale one of the walls".

Jaune was about voice his concerns, but Pyrrha silenced his worries with a wave of her hand.

"Nothing serious, but I really pushed myself with those last few waves".

Jaune sighed in relief.

Then he smirked.

"So you need to relax then? Maybe loosen up your joints a bit?"

Pyrrha grinned back.

"Jaune Arc, what are you suggesting?"

Juane just sniggered and lead Pyrrha to the bed.

She eagerly obliged his offer.

Late at night, Pyrrha awoke form her slumber to find Jaune sill wide awake looking at the ceiling.

"Jaune", she murmured. "Are you still awake?"

He turned to face her, a little upset he disturbed her rest.

"It's nothin Pyrrha", he smiled. "Go back to sleep".

 _Liar_

"Jaune", she asked sternly.

He sighed in defeat, knowing his wife was far too smart and determined to let this go.

"It's just…I really wish we were the last one, ya know? I mean, I'm not denying being a huntsman hasn't given me the best years of my life. Nor would I ever trade it for anything else".

His expression became crestfallen.

"But that wasn't how it always was. There were times when…God Pyrrha the things we've been through. Not just the Grimm, we're meant to fight that. But the White Fang, Torchwick, Cinder Fall, they were worse. I know it sounds like the good old days when we talk about, but when we actually lived through it, it was hell. That woman nearly destroyed everything and…Pyrrha I never wanted him to have to go through what we did. The pain, the loss, the doubt".

"And the anger. That unbelievable rage the just burns inside you and grows with every new problem. Eventually we didn't even know what we were anymore. Whether we were heroes keeping peace or just another weapon, pointed at the enemy. I just…I…"

Pyrrha held Jaune's hand in her own, offering reassurance.

"You can't stop him you know".

"Yeah. I know. It's like he didn't even hear the bits about death and betrayal when we talked to him about our time at Beacon. All he saw was brave hunters fighting bad guys".

"So did we".

"But it's not that simple…"

"He'll learn. We did".

"Yeah but…"

"Jaune".

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for a brief while.

"I just don't want him to be hurt".

Pyrrha turned Jaune on his side, facing her. Her smile was sincere and full of pride. Her hand reached to his face, her touch calming his worried mind.

"Of course you're worried. That just means you're a good father. But if you stopped him, if you locked him away behind eighty inches of bullet proof glass to keep him safe, you know it would kill him inside. He _needs_ to become a huntsman".

"He'll have bad days. Days when he'll question his truest friend's loyalty, days he'll endure horrors he never dreamed were possible, days he'll think there's nothing left that can be taken from him and realises he's wrong".

"But then he'll have days where he'll be a hero to the world. A friend to many other hunters. And maybe even the love of someone else. And he'll know that all of the pain, all of the fear and anger the world throws at him, can't hope to match against the good in this world".

Jaune placed his hand to his wife's face.

"How are you so sure?"

She smiled wider.

"He's our son. He's got too much of my stubbornness and your spirit to give up just because of a little bit of evil facing him".

At last Jaune smiled, Pyrrha's word finally bring him round.

He moved in to give her a deep, powerful kiss.

They finally broke away to catch some air.

Finally, Jaune got the sleep he so desperately needed, with Pyrrha not far behind him.

Though she shared her husband fears over the many obstacles the stood before their son, she was confident in her words. He was the result of a love that survived everything thrown at them and would no doubt show the same strength in his years to come.

How was it Nora put it once?

 _Oh yes_

"Nothing in this world can stop Arkos!"


End file.
